Smoky skies might be our future

How quickly we forget.

The smoke last week was as bad as I can remember. For days it lay on the land like a thick, foul fog. The only escape was to stay inside, run the air conditioner, and keep the windows closed. Then a cold front blew through the state, bringing showers, and in their wake, clear skies.

We all breathed a sigh of relief, commented how wonderful it was that the smoke was gone and resumed life as normal.

Not that we have any choice.

Forest fires are no easier to put out now than they were in 1988 or even 1910 when 3 million acres burned across Montana, Idaho and Washingt...